This season has been an up-and-down experience for the Los Angeles Lakers. After starting 2-10, they’ve bounced between good stretches and bad stretches to compile a 17-21 record through the first 38 games.
Only time will tell us how far the Lakers can go this campaign, but LeBron James is doing everything he can to make the most out of his team.
In fact, even as he closes in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s All-Time scoring record, LeBron admits that he’s only really worried about winning.
“To be able to go out and still be a focal point of my opponent’s scouting reports lets me know I’m still playing at a high level,” he said. “I want to continue to play at a championship level and still be respected every time I touch the floor as a threat throughout whatever minutes I’m playing,” James said.
“I want to win. [The losing is] not sitting well with me. I don’t like having accomplishments, and it don’t feel right, when it comes in a losing effort. … So as we sit here right now as a franchise and as a team that’s below .500 — we’ve been playing some good basketball as of late, but we want to and I want to win at the highest level. Breaking records or setting records or passing greats in a losing effort has never been a DNA of mine… Me being out on the floor, trying to get the scoring title in games that don’t matter, it felt so corny to me. That has never mattered to me unless it was about winning.”
Winning has come in short supply for the Lakeshow this season. While they are 4-0 since the New Year, the Lakers haven’t really put together a dominant stretch of basketball since Anthony Davis went down with his injury last month.
The good news is his return may not be far out. But can LeBron keep the Lakers afloat for that long?
LeBron James Played A Role In L.A.’s Struggles
There’s not really much the Lakers can do to improve their roster right now, but it isn’t being forgotten that James has played a role in all of this. As the franchise guy, he’s been calling the shots for this team and he does have some role to play, even though it’s true that the front office has failed their players.
This was a cry for help — from his teammates, the front office and the entire NBA. Nothing new to the James experience, but this one felt weightier, because there is only so much winning basketball left in him.
On one hand, it is hard to feel too bad for James, since his station in Los Angeles is his own doing. He encouraged the Lakers to make their disastrous trade for Russell Westbrook. He signed a two-year, $97.1 million extension over the summer that prevents him from changing teams this season, knowing full well the roster is no better than the one that failed to qualify for the play-in tournament last season. He chose this.
At this point, it’s anyone’s guess what we can expect from the Lakers this season. When Anthony Davis comes back, they could surprise some people and become a dangerous first-round matchup.
The odds of success look low now, but LeBron James has a way of making the impossible happen, and he seems more driven now than he’s been in a long time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MUGkIIfgN4
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